Wearing Your Skin
by Psychic Creed
Summary: Orochimaru has learned a jutsu that allows him to take over a person's body and walk in their skin, and has claimed two or more victims in order to use it. But how did he first learn to use it? A look into the development of Orochimaru's impressive jutsu.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Nightfall. The sun cast a bright orange glow over the tops of the mountains, and reflecting off of the various trees in the area. The sky was deepening into a navy blue, and the clouds were pale yellow, due to the light of the setting sun. A few stars were becoming visible and the buzz that had filled the forest only a few hours before had dropped to a quiet din.

_This is the perfect time of day…_ Orochimaru thought to himself with a chuckle. _The shadows have grown longer, and soon will be as deceiving as my best genjutsus… _

Orochimaru stood still, watching the sun sink lower and lower behind the last few peaks on the horizon. Tonight he was going to raid a nearby village in hopes of attaining a few new test subjects. So far, all of his experiments had failed, but he hoped to change that soon.

He looked to the sky and found the North Star. A smile spread over his pale face. _This is going to be so entertaining…_ he thought as he followed the star northward. He knew there was a small collection of houses and people living near the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. He had been watching them closely for weeks to make sure there would be no interruptions when it came to abducting a few women and children.

After about an hour of walking he saw an orange light spilling through the trees ahead of him. His eyes narrowed and grimaced. _This was not expected…_he thought, _this village has never been so alight before…_

The sound of people's screams reached his ears, and the smell of smoke drifted into his nostrils. "Oh…_perfect..!_" he hissed to himself. He leaped into a nearby tree and continued to leap from branch to branch until he was overlooking the little village. "How befitting," he mused to himself, "the night I plan to take a few lives of my own, someone has the nerve to beat me to it…"

He watched the people below, running about like little ants. _Well… on the brighter side, it should be easier to abduct a few children now that everyone is already in a frenzy…. _He chuckled again and leaped down from his perch and ran into the village, passing people escaping as he went. He leapt upon a house that wasn't yet engulfed in flames and again surveyed the area. More and more people poured out of their homes and either tried to run, help those around them, or attack their assailants. _Looks like some rouge ninja…_ he thought dryly. _How un-original… probably just looking for some money and a reputation… How pathetic…_

As he stood and surveyed, he saw a small cluster of children running away from the village, with one in the lead. Orochimaru smiled again, _Jackpot,_ he thought. He again leapt from building to building in pursuit of the children.

Finally, he was catching up to them. His smile grew as he saw them make their way to a clearing near the forest and out of the village. Just as he was about to make his move, he sensed that he wasn't the only one after the children. Sure enough, four ninja appeared around the children, encircling them like cattle. Orochimaru watched as the child who had lead them out of the village started shouting orders to the others.

"Everyone! Group up!" The leader shouted, " Everyone on the outside face the ninja! It'll be harder for them to attack!"

Orochimaru chuckled again. "How amusing!" he said to himself. "This child is quite the little warrior… Let's see how this goes…"

He watched as the ninja darted in and out, testing the circle of children, laughing as the feigned their attacks. The leader of the children stood stiff, watching their assailant's every move. Just then, one of the ninja ran forward. The leader ducked down, and punched the ninja straight in the gut, knocking out his wind, which caused him to fall to his knees.

"You little punk! How _dare _you?!" One of the other ninja shouted in anger.

The ninja who the leader punched suddenly jolted up, and grabbed the leader by the throat. "You little brat…!" he growled, "You will _pay _for that…!" With that, the other ninja stopped playing games; they all pulled out their kunai and rushed the group of children. Screams filled the air as the children fell one by one. "N-no…!" The leader choked.

The ninja who still held the leader's neck laughed, "That's what you get for messing with us, you runt!"

Suddenly, the ninja's body tightened, and his eyes grew wide. His grip on the leader's throat loosened, eventually dropping the child to the ground. The leader automatically looked up to see what had caused the ninja to release his hold. Slowly, the ninja's body sank to the ground, and behind him stood a tall individual. His hair was jet black and long; almost concealing one side of his face, which was a brilliant and in-human white. His eyes were lined with a purple hue, and the greenish-gold color of his eyes stared down into the leader's.

For the first time since he had been watching the children's movement and resistance, Orochimaru had never gotten a clear look at the leading child. The child's hair was dark, almost as dark as his own. The child was obviously a female, due to the fact that she wore a woman's kimono. Her eyes were a bright brown, almost a gold, and they sparkled in the light reflected from the burning village.

Without a word, Orochimaru ended his studying and quickly made his way toward the still-attacking ninja. He slew one by throwing one of his kunai, a simple task for a ninja of Orochimaru's level. The other two, who saw his attack on their comrade, rushed at him from both his front and back. Orochimaru smiled. He leapt in the air and placed his hands on the shoulders of the ninja in front of him. With ease, he swung out his legs, which collided with the head of the ninja behind him, sending him falling to the ground. Then, Orochimaru took his long, sharp nails and ran them across the ninja's throat, cutting open his jugular. Orochimaru then pushed off of the bleeding ninja's shoulders and flipped through the air and pulled out another kunai. The ninja he had kicked hadn't yet hit the ground. Just as he was about to do so, Orochimaru landed behind him, and forced the knife into the ninja's heart.

He chuckled once more, _What an eventful evening…_ he thought to himself. He stood and surveyed the carnage. Very few of the children still remained, maybe ten at least, including the leader girl. "Well, children," he said smoothly, smiling at the crying and bloody children. "I have quite a treat for you. You see, I'm a medical ninja from Konoha and I was sent to save your village. Now, if you will all look over here, I will heal your wounds…"

Even the children who hadn't a mark on their bodies looked in the direction of the strange newcomer. Orochimaru grinned and cast a few hand signs. Once he was done, he shouted out, "Ninja art! Mind freezing jutsu!" Suddenly, all of the children slumped over, mindless expressions on their faces; all life and thought drained from their eyes. Orochimaru began to chuckle again. "Well, now I guess it's time to start looking for the best of the bunch!"

He made his way from child to child, inspecting their bodies and possible heartiness. After a few minutes, he had picked six children already and separated them from the others; in order to make sure he didn't get a stronger one confused with a weaker one. _Children are all so alike,_ he thought to himself. Then, he noticed the leader girl, still sitting on the ground like she was once she was dropped. _She we would be a prefect specimen for my experiments! _He thought happily. _Very strong personality- I wonder how she would hold up…? _ He made his way toward her, his heart a flutter as he thought of the possibilities for his experiments. Then, the girl turned around and looked into his eyes. Orochimaru froze momentarily, surprised that this child could still function normally. _How could she have gotten out of my jutsu?! She's only a- _then he stopped his panicking, and smiled to himself. _Of course… the only way one could get out of such a low-level jutsu is to simply look away…! She must not have cared to listen when I made my announcement…_

Orochimaru smiled at the girl. "Are you badly injured, little girl…?" He asked silkily. The girl looked at the ground for a moment, and then shook her head. "N-no…" she whispered. She looked beyond Orochimaru's figure at the other children and their strange expressions.

"What happened to them…? Are they going to be alright…?" She asked Orochimaru, worry in her quiet voice.

"They are simply reaping in the benefits of a very strong healing technique, my dear. Nothing to be afraid of- in fact, they will all be back to normal by morning."

She looked back into Orochimaru's eyes and smiled. "Oh good… I'm glad you came to help us, sir."

Orochimaru smiled despite himself. _What a mild mannered child- and yet, so strong… What an interesting combination. I may not use her for experiments after all, but rather other purposes… _

"Then tell me child," Orochimaru said, kneeling down to look the girl in the eye, "what do you plan to do now that your family and friends have all left? Where do you plan to go?"

The girl looked at the ground again, tears welling up in her eyes. "I… I don't know…" she said quietly. Orochimaru then took his index finger, crooked it and lifted the child's face to meet his gaze. The girl's eyes glowed even more with her tears, Orochimaru did his best to look concerned, but inside he was brimming with joy. _This child would be a perfect vessel once I perfect the Art of Immortality Jutsu… I shall raise her to my liking, and then, when the time is right… _

"Child," he said to her, "You no longer have a home to return to, and no family to welcome you and care for you. Come with me, and I shall adopt you, and teach you everything I know. I will teach you the way of the Shinobi, and in return, you shall pledge to me your allegiance. Is that understood.?"

The girl blinked away her tears, but more came. She leapt at Orochimaru, and wrapped her small arms around his waste. Orochimaru looked at the girl in shock, not anticipating her embrace. "Yes… I shall come with you," she sobbed into his chest. Orochimaru grinned at the pact he and the child had just made. "It is settled then, my child," he said, placing a hand on top of her head. "You need only refer to me as Lord Orochimaru, or Orochimaru-sama; whichever fits your liking. But for now, my child, we must go."

He stood then, releasing himself from the child's embrace. "Tell me child," he asked, looking into the girl's eyes again. "What is your name…?'

She returned his gaze and replied, "I'm Keiko Otori, my Lord."

Again, Orochimaru smiled dispite himself. "Keiko-chan, we must leave now."

Once the girl heard him call her 'chan,' she smiled broadly. _Just as I suspected…_ he thought to himself, _If I treat her kindly she will do exactly as I say… So this is the price I must pay for a loyal subordinate…? So be it…_

He turned and knelt again, showing the girl his back. "Here, Keiko-chan," he said coaxingly, "we must go on a long journey, and you are tired. Please, ride on my back as we make our way."

She walked toward him, and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She rested her head on his back and said quietly, "Thank you, Lord Orochimaru… thank you…_"_

Orochimaru listened as her breathing slowed as she drifted to sleep. _Perfect!_ he laughed, _Now, the rest of the children can follow without pesky questioning! _

Quickly, Orochimaru released his hold on the girl's legs and cast some more hand signs and said an incantation. Once finished, he laughed to himself. "Oh… I am so incredibly happy I was able to use my newest jutsu! This is absolutely marvelous!" He watched as the now mindless children. slowly began to rise. "This way, children…" he said snidely, "We have to get you home before the sun rises!" With that, he turned and led the children out of the village, one clinging on his back.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The smell of trees and wood filled the air, which was warm and welcoming. Keiko shifted in her sleep, trying not to wake up, but eventually, gave in. She sat up and looked at her surroundings. She was laying in the center of a large and very beautiful bedroom. The light from the sun illuminated the paper of the shoji walls that lined the room, and cast a pale yellow glow on the tatami floor. Keiko noticed she was laying in a very comfortable futon with a beautiful quilt spread on top. Outside she could here birds singing and leaves rustling and decided to take a look around.

She ran to a sliding door and opened it. Outside, she saw a wall of trees swaying in a breeze. There was green grass, the greenest she had ever seen, surrounding the house where she assumed she was now staying. She ran out of the room and into the field to get a better look at her new home. It was much like her old home, only much bigger and not surrounded by other houses of the same style. She then looked past her the house and peered at her surroundings. Indeed, the wall of trees encircled the house and the small green meadow. From the sounds of the forest around her there wasn't any town or village for miles. _Such seclusion…_ she thought, _It's so peaceful…_ _I wonder if there are any people around here who would be my friends._

She felt a lump growing in her throat again. _Friends._ All of them had been murdered in her village, along with her family. Now she was all alone in the world; not a person to guide her. She felt a numbness come over her now and sank to her knees. No tears could reach her eyes, and no sounds could reach her lips; she just sat there, her mind rushing from one happy memory to another. She saw her mother braiding her hair in her room, and saw her telling her something, but she couldn't hear a thing. She saw her father scolding her brother Taka for burning some fish they were supposed to have for dinner, but nothing could be heard. She saw her friends and herself all running through the village playing games, she saw her birthday celebrations, she saw her village's Obon festival; she saw her whole life just rolling by with no sounds of laughter, no music- nothing.

Suddenly, Keiko sensed someone standing behind her. She turned quickly to see who it was, afraid that it was another group of rouge ninja coming to finish the job. Standing there, wearing a large brimmed hat that she had never seen before stood her new companion Orochimaru.

"My lord!" she choked, overwhelmed with gratitude that he was still there. She fell to her knees again and prostrated herself at his feet.

"Child, why are you out in the meadow alone? Do you not realize the dangers of this?!" he hissed angrily, "Do you _want _to end up like the people in your village?!"

His harsh words struck a nerve within her. Her tears now flowed heavily and freely. "I… I am sorry, m-my lord," she sobbed, still prostrated at his feet, "I- I wanted to see where I was, and if my f-f-friends were here and I…. And then I… I…"

Orochimaru just stood there, staring blankly at the child. He didn't care about her words, and her tears didn't matter to him. But instead of letting the spectacle continue as he wanted, he knelt down and placed a pale hand on her shoulder. "Keiko-chan, I am not angry. Rather, worried about you!"

"W-worried…?" Keiko said, raising her head to look at him through the tears.

"Why of course! You are now my adopted daughter- the one I shall pass my knowledge to! I don't want anything to happen to you!"

"My.. My Lord…" She said, blinking back more tears.

"Now, come Keiko-chan, come with me and I shall give you a proper tour of your new home and what is to be expected of you." He stood and watched Keiko as she shakily got to her knees. She looked almost like a young deer; young and new, but very disorientated and wobbly not only physically, but mentally as well- someone he could mold to fit his liking.

He showed her things she had already seen when she ventured about, but a few more rooms she hadn't found, such as the storage room full of food and a room full of replacement futons. Finally, they found their way to the last room. Orochimaru slid open the rice paper door to reveal an extremely large tatami room with suits of armor and hundreds of different types of weapons on display. "This will be your training area for now. Here, I shall teach you the basics of combat and ninjutsu until you are proficient enough to attend me on my errands and such."

"Errands?" Keiko asked looking up at Orochimaru, "What sort of errands, my lord?"

"You needn't worry about that now. When the time comes, I shall address it. But now, I need to begin conditioning you for training."

"But my lord, I haven't had anything to eat yet today! Maybe if I could have some-"

"Silence!" Orochimaru hissed, glaring at the child. "Do you not want to learn the ways of the Ninja? Would you rather eat all day and grow lazy like the people in your village?! Do you not want to be able to master ninjutsu and be able to defend yourself?! Do you want to end up _dying_ rather than living?! Do you want to end up like your family?! Do you?!"

Keiko stared wide eyed at Orochimaru, fear growing within her. Something insider her told her it would be wise to leave as soon as she could, to get away because this man was nothing to be triffeled with; that he was dangerous and may even kill her if she crossed him. _Get out now!_ it said, _Leave this place! Find shelter elsewhere! You are better off living in the forest than with this man!_ However, something deeper within her knew that even if she did run, he would find her. If she were to escape, he would be able to track her down with ease, and then bring her back or worse. Keiko bowed her head, not quite sure of what she was doing. "I apologize my lord," she said, not quite feeling her own words, let alone anything else. "I don't want to end up like my family and village. I shall do as you say."

Orochimaru sneered, "Well said, my daughter." He placed his hand on her shoulder and led her into the room. "Your first form of training comes today," he explained, "you shall clean each piece of weaponry until it shines like the sun. Then, you shall pick a weapon that you shall keep as your own. Once you have found this, I shall teach you to use it."

He led Keiko to a small table where a wet cloth, a few stones and other objects lay. "Now, you shall figure out how to use these well enough; you are a smart girl, after all," Orochimaru said. "For every mistake, that is one hour you don't get to eat, and keep in mind child, I am very picky when it comes to weapons. Now, the sooner you get to work, the sooner you eat. I will peek in on you from time to time, so don't get sloppy."

"But Lord Orochimaru, I-!" She tried to say, but when she turned around, he was gone. Keiko bit her lip to keep herself from crying. She had never used any of these things before, and she certainly had never handled any weaponry before. She stared at the table for a long while, trying to figure out what to do, and soon her mind drifted into thoughts about her old home with her family in her village. She could see her mother waking up early every morning to make breakfast for the family, and she could remember hearing her grandfather grumbling about how the merchants in town never carried any good tobacco. Her mind then flew to memories of her father. He was one of the members of the village militia, so he did know a thing or two about weapons. Oh, how she wished he was here now. Then, it came to her. She could see her father leading her into his room to show her his prized sword. "Look closely, Keiko," he had said, "this sword has been in the family for many generations. If this blade every grew dull do you know what would happen?"

"What?" she had asked.

"It would no longer do it's job and cause much trouble."

"What do you mean, father?"

"If this blade ever grew dull," he explained warmly, "it could no longer protect the people of this village, or the people of whom I love, causing much trouble for not only you, your mother and your grandmother and father, but for the rest of the village as well. In order to keep this from happening, it is my duty to keep this blade as sharp as possible."

"How do you do it father? I want to keep it sharp, too!"

Her father laughed, "Unfortunately Keiko-chan, it is the men of the family who must take care of this task." When he saw how crest fallen his daughter looked, he smiled and said, "However, I don't think it would hurt to instruct you just in case." Just as Orochimaru had done, he led her to a small table where he kept all of the tools he used to keep his sword in top shape. "These stone here," he said, letting her touch them, "are to help sharpen the blade. This cloth and this liquid are to help polish the blade, and help it stay clean which is very important. If you ever need to use these items, remember to be gentle but firm. And remember, quality is much more important than anything else."

Keiko snapped back into reality and realized that she might have more of a chance to pass this test than she had thought. She scrambled to her feet and ran to one of the many weapon racks. She grabbed the first weapon she found and ran back to the table with it. She laid the weapon down and sat in front of it. It was a katana, and it was in fairly good shape. She remembered her fathers words on the specific stones and other tools and their purpose in cleaning up and repairing blades. Gingerly, she lifted the first stone and ran it across the length of the blade. Everything was going smoothly but suddenly the stone slipped and she cut her finger on the blade. She cried out and looked at her finger. It was bleeding, but nothing to be really concerned with. She picked up the stone again and continued to work, keeping a careful eye on what she was doing. The polish stung her cut finger, but for the most part, she just concentrated on the task at hand. Soon, she was polishing the blades like a pro; a very sliced up pro. "This is my first time," she told herself, "so there are going to be many cuts. But as long as Lord Orochimaru is happy, I too will be happy." Three hours past and soon, Orochimaru entered the room. He looked around and saw that the weapons he had assigned her to clean looked as if they were being handled by a very skilled craftsman. "Well, Keiko-chan," he said, still looking around, "I see you have adjusted to this job every nicely. And your on your last weapon, I presume?"

"Yes, my Lord," she said, slowly getting to her feet, the weapon in her hand. She turned to face him, and he got a good look at her hands. Small rivulets of dried blood wound their way down her wrists, but her hands were puckered and white, except for the glowing red cuts all over her fingers and palms. She gingerly held the weapon in her left hand. Orochimaru smiled when he saw this. She looked tired and in pain, but the way she held that sword, she looked like a small warrior.

"Well done, child." He said. "Now, you have seen my collection of weapons- which do you want to call yours?"

Keiko tightened her grip on the sword, and winced as her cuts pressed against the hilt. She held it out toward him just like a warrior would. "I have chosen this one," she said through gritted teeth.

"Good choice, young one," he said with a smile, "a _nodachi_ blade- very good choice. Now, it would be wise to name your blade."

Keiko looked at the blade as if seeing it for the first time. She looked at the shining silvery metal of the blade, and the overall length. It was a large sword indeed, one she would have to learn how to master. "I will call it Kakuzentaru," Keiko said finally.

Orochimaru smiled when he heard her choice of names. '_Clear cut', _he thought to himself, _what a meaningful name…_

"Well chosen again, Keiko-chan," he said with a broad smile. "Now, let us bandage your hands and get you something to eat."


End file.
